science fair project ideas [Archive]

Yaqout

Oct22-03, 05:21 AM

Or you can search why different sands of different colors in the same area don't mix together. In other words why do you see in the desert white sand, black sand and red sand side by side. I mean the sand storms don't seem to effect this well-incorporated separation of different sands.

I got this idea when I was doing a science fair project on rocks and minerals. I had many minerals and rocks that I had collected on a family trip to the Sahara, among my collection there were even arrowheads. Well, I thought I had covered the topic completely when, one person came up to me and asked me this very same question. Of course I mute because I never thought of the idea before.

So I thought someone would be interested. Hope, I was helpful. [:D]

Hyperreality

Oct31-03, 02:47 AM

What about Thomas Young's double slit experiment, along with an introduction of wave phenomenal?

thegame

Nov9-03, 10:57 PM

how about Milken's Oil Drop Experiment? [:D] joking

Loren Booda

Nov10-03, 12:03 AM

I always liked sodium bicarb and vinegar.[t)]

Shahil

Nov21-03, 08:58 AM

I know that this project is one that involves quite a bt of work but what about doing a project where you research and actually make an alternate fuel like biodiesel?

tandoorichicken

Nov23-03, 02:04 PM

You could do an environmental project if there is an environmental problem that your area has. For example, if your area suffers frequent droughts or shortages, you could find new ways to acquire water, like condensation.
With these, you sometimes get brownie points for helping your community too.

Loren Booda

Nov23-03, 06:56 PM

Make some chemical and biological tests of your nearby creek or river.

Esperanto

Dec1-03, 03:49 PM

Make your own A-bomb http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~dionisio/fun/make-your-own-h-bomb.html
You'll learn to plan and budget projects?

tandoorichicken

Dec9-03, 09:52 PM

Or build a blimp.
This one requires some planning skizzills. It is also educational in more than just science, also in project planning and time/money management.

Jimmy

Dec22-03, 08:22 PM

albrock06

Jan10-04, 01:10 PM

I've always wanted to try a little project of my own. It would take a week or so to start it up, but hey, science didn't happen over night. [6)]

I wanted to make a bacteria culture (or a few of them). Maybe grow them in my garage. I'd have to make a little stable box to keep them in. ... find some little petri dishes and whatnot.

Then, using different household objects (not cleaning supplies; that's cheating), I'd try to make my own sanitizer. (I was thinking ... food items. Like onions, vinager, lemon juice. You know ... just normal stuff you'd find in the pantry.)

I'd apply a bit to each culture and see what kills what and how long it takes. My chemistry teacher would love me to pieces.

But still, there are some questions left. Like ... where do you get the bacteria? Dad's mouth when he first wakes up in the morning? Should I grow some nice pretty green mold? :shrugs: Sounds fun, any way you do it. [:)]

recon

Mar20-04, 04:34 AM

What about some ideas for mathematics projects? We seldom hear about those. Right now, I am particularly interested in mathematics that involve computers.

Aurora Eveline Jai

Apr6-04, 07:53 PM

What about, Does the Architecture of a house affect how you sleep?

Um.. I know more, but not really Math like. I'm not that into the science fair stuff, but my friend did a project about germs and she won an award.

IooqXpooI

Apr18-04, 05:15 PM

Americanantigravity.com

Tom McCurdy

Jun10-04, 01:19 AM

Make your own A-bomb http://my.ohio.voyager.net/~dionisio/fun/make-your-own-h-bomb.html
You'll learn to plan and budget projects?
We did this in our class at school-- we modeled it out to the exact details on how to build
what materials we would need
where we would get them from
then drew out a blue print

The amount of research was intense for a math and science center for 2 weeks for 70 people, although it would be a nice project the amount of time needed to do a good job may be more than most can give.

Shane

Jun26-04, 11:25 PM

One of my more favorite projects that I have done is the glowing pickle. It is fairly simple to construct and is very interesting. The project consists of two test tube racks (or something to suspend the pickle in the air), an apparatus for applying 110 volts AC (I just used a standard dimmer switch and plugged it in a wall outlet), and a pickle. You apply the voltage and see a glowing pickle.

Simply stated, when a current is run through the pickle, electrons in the NaCl will emit a bright yellow. This project demonstrates the principle behind the different colors of fireworks.

Also there are several variations to this project. For example, if you soak the pickle in a potassium chloride for about a week, the yellowish glow becomes a more fainter pink.

PRodQuanta

Jun26-04, 11:32 PM

Hyperreality said: What about Thomas Young's double slit experiment, along with an introduction of wave phenomenal? It's funny you say that, because that's what I did for my freshman science fair project. Wave-particle duality.

Paden Roder

alex_siabutt

Jul7-04, 04:20 AM

hi i was just wondering if you know of any topics for a high school science fair project on fireworks? pleaase help.

alex.

Loren Booda

Jul7-04, 12:00 PM

Safety is #1.

SamB

Jul12-04, 09:02 AM

What about X-rays. What are the cons of an Xray project?

Laplace

Jul30-04, 09:26 PM

Here are some places for those who interested in doing math projects

1 http://camel.math.ca/Education/mpsf/
2 http://mathforum.org/teachers/mathproject.html
3 http://www2.edc.org/makingmath/

Use "math projects" in your favourite search engine as a starting point.

Laplace

recon

Aug5-04, 11:02 PM

Laplace, the problem is that those three sites seem to be the ONLY relevant sites I can find on the internet.

Artman

Aug6-04, 12:18 PM

My brother built a Tesla coil, impressed the heck out of the judges, but really wasn't that difficult. Just make sure that you follow all safety precautions, such as the line voltage and middle high voltage areas (120 volt to 10,000 volt) are locked away from possible contact (plexiglass enclosure works). The ultra high voltage areas are fairly safe, this voltage just makes your hair stand on end.

I helped a friend build a transistorized electric eye, he won second prize with that.

Design and build a telescope. Detail the optical path, grind the mirror, plan the required baffling, build your own red dot finderscope, etc.

Imparcticle

Sep5-04, 02:21 AM

What about some ideas for mathematics projects? We seldom hear about those. Right now, I am particularly interested in mathematics that involve computers.

Ah, if you are, then you should see Stephen Wolfram's work on cellular automata/self organising systems. He wrote a book on its applications to comuters. here's the website where you can find the book online:
http://www.wolframscience.com/nksonline/page-2

Soshamim

Sep28-04, 05:54 PM

Hello, what are some good project ideas involving light, photocells, and current?

kirkmcloren

Oct12-04, 07:54 PM

Make a engine that runs on gravity [;)]

Water wheel?

monsi

Nov8-04, 11:29 PM

sarahowen

Nov11-04, 09:47 AM

only a few months my group did a project on condoms.. testing their elasticity and durability. you can tell i was in a group of 4 guys right!? anyways our research Q was how does the human body protect itself. we got 1st prize for creativity and interpretation of research question
sarah

drunkenfool

Nov14-04, 11:12 PM

Physicsfool

Nov16-04, 10:00 PM

Does anyone have an idea for a project dealing with aerodynamics? I don't know to much about the topic, but I would love to do more reseach.
Thanks!

Last year I burned different kinds of wood untill all I had left were the ashes. Then I found the density of the ashes and related it back to the wood. I did it on the idea that you would be able to find what kind of wood was burned in a forest fire by finding the density of its ashes. (No one busted me one the fact that different trees grow next to each other.)

Loren Booda

Nov16-04, 10:42 PM

Physicsfool

Nov17-04, 06:34 AM

Thanks so much!

oookhc

Nov30-04, 08:21 PM

This site is with some science fair project ideas:

http://www.ScienceOxygen.com/idea.html

pack_rat2

Dec9-04, 11:05 PM

Here's my idea for a science-fair project, which should be a lot of fun: dertermine and compare the aerodynamic efficiency of modern cars with cars from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. This could be done by getting models of representative cars from a hobby shop (all of the same scale), putting each in a wind tunnel, and measuring the drag force on it. And here's an important bit of info...at subsonic velocities, a "tear-drop" shape (a 3:1 length to width ratio is considered optimum) is the most efficient shape. Furthermore, the shape up front is relatively unimportant compared to that of the rear: a tapered "tail" is best, and a flat vertical surface is terrible.

delton

Dec15-04, 09:56 AM

The science fair I want to enter: the Intel ISEF requires original research in a specific field. :eek: Any ideas?

gschjetne

Dec19-04, 06:43 AM

Recently I did a project on the flame-retardant properties of citric acid and acetic acid solutions! Now that's some fresh new science, and it actually worked quite well!
If anybody's interested, drop me a mail!

plusaf

Dec30-04, 07:34 PM

my college roommate once experimented with liquid flow: if you have, for example, a 2-liter size plastic bottle and it's filled with water, how long does it take for the bottle to empty if you just flip it upside down? if you tip it at some angle, does it empty faster or slower? are there any other things you could do (without changing the physical characteristics of the bottle... no squeezing, puncturing, etc.) to get it to empty faster?

hint: try getting the water to spin around inside so it comes out like a little upside-down tornado... is this faster or slower, and why?

:devil:

Jan1-05, 06:34 AM

Of course you would need it automated, so it would turn at a set speed, and not move after it reached the angle to be.

plusaf

Jan4-05, 05:03 PM

Of course you would need it automated, so it would turn at a set speed, and not move after it reached the angle to be.

ah, maybe not exactly what i was trying to say.... for home experimentation, fill a plastic bottle with water, then invert it over the sink.

watch the water bubble/gurgle out in spurts.

then refill the bottle, flip it over again, but quickly rotate its AXIS a few times, similar to the motion of the precession of the axis of a spinning gyroscope. don't spin the bottle on ITs axis; spin the AXIS, holding the open mouth of the bottle at the bottom, as a pivot point.

this will make the water in the bottle spin within the bottle, and, in my late roommate's opinion/experiments, empty the bottle faster than just letting it gurgle out.

my added theory is that, after you get the water in the bottle spinning, there might be an optimum angle from the vertical for the axis of the bottle, for which the liquid empties fastest.

in a local science store some years ago, i saw an item for sale that coupled two two-liter bottles together, mouth-to-mouth. fill one with water with the other empty, then couple them together, and you can do this experiment over and over without losing the water!

i hope that's a little clearer..... and i'm looking forward to hearing some results!

happy new year!

plusaf

Jan4-05, 05:11 PM

Try depositation of dust residue on differing airfoils, like fans. Relate the shape of the residue to a modification for improved airfoil efficiency. To speed up the process, you might charge the blades slightly. Do well!

i really like this one! taking a look at the fan above my desk, i note that the dust has collected only from the middle of the front side of the blade (the side facing me) to the trailing edge. from the leading edge to the middle of the chord, there's virtually no dust stuck to the plastic blade!

--- write me at plusaf at plusaf dot com, and i'll send you a photo of one of the fan blades, if you'd like.. :smile: ---

howcome?!

is this "dust collector effect" desirable? undesirable? inevitable and inescapable, or can it be modified by changing the blade's shape, airfoil, etc?

or maybe fans should just be designed with removable covers so you can scrub the dust off every so often! :wink:

Loren Booda

Jan4-05, 07:04 PM

plusaf,

How about determining the optimum ratio of air to water to salt for dissolving most efficiently in a shaken cylindrical container? E. g., given ten shakes of the container, what is the residual amount of NaCl left versus the original salt/water and water/air proportions?

Thanks for the photo offer, but I have one very dusty fan of my own to observe! :yuck:

Zaimeen

Jan10-05, 03:14 PM

Think about finding a new place to live in space other than the Earth!

siliconhype

Jan10-05, 10:54 PM

Here is a great resource for biology projects and information...

http://www.dnahack.com/

Shows u how to extract DNA too! Easy stuff.

Quantum_Prodegy

Jan18-05, 11:18 PM

create a hexalifter and then explain what is happening....check it out:

http://jlnlabs.imars.com/lifters/hexalifter/index.htm

plusaf

Jan25-05, 01:55 PM

create a hexalifter and then explain what is happening....check it out:

http://jlnlabs.imars.com/lifters/hexalifter/index.htm

determine if there is any reason why six sides are better or even different from a construction with 3, 4, or 5 sides.

research whether there's any similarity here to how fanless air purifiers work, such as the ones from Sharper Image http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/productview/sku=SI737SNX/hppos=1 , for example

:approve:

plusaf

Jan25-05, 02:08 PM

I just got an idea for my upcoming science fair project. I'm going to build a sterling engine out of spare parts. If you dont know what sterling engines are and how they work, check out this link: http://www.stirlingengine.com/faq/one?scope=public&faq_id=1#1
btw im a 7th grader

first, how did the engine and your project work out? please share with us.

second, for others interested in engines and things like that, you might find it interesting to make a model of the hybrid system used in the Toyota Prius. it's not a simple, straightforward, "easy" system to understand, but it works very well. it took me hours and hours to finally "get" how it REALLY works, though you'll probably catch on sooner...

it combines an internal combustion engine which does NOT work via the common "Otto Cycle", two motor/generators, one set of planetary gears, and a chain drive to the front differential! quite a combination, eh?

it also provides means of regeneration, both for just plain putting some charge back into the main battery, as well as for the equivalent of "engine braking", or the slowing effect you get in a "normal" car when you take your foot off the gas and shift to a lower gear.

see how long it takes you to grok it all....
ps.
there is no "reverse gear", either. how the heck do they get the car to back up?! :confused:

+af :cool:

grays0n

Jan25-05, 05:34 PM

what are some idea for projects that are really cool, like the lifters that someone previously likned to. What are some other ideas or links for projects with really cool, almost unnatural results. Idk, just something really amazing when you see it. Not your everyday run of the mill physics or astronomy/cosmolgy project.

The Green Giant

Feb24-05, 01:52 AM

Hi, I'm doing this project for my science fair...

http://www.amasci.com/electrom/statbotl.html

It's soooo easy!

There are other good science experiments there too but I settled for this one. Would have built a Mono-Rail, but there was no places, the fair was just for marks hehe. (and mono rails arent cheap :devil: )

Rplanas

Feb27-05, 07:59 PM

One science project you can do is to design an engine that runs on water.

misskitty

Feb28-05, 04:08 PM

That would be very cool...especially if you brough some aerodynamics into the design.

Just for fun, how about designing a hybrid race car or something that runs on water while throwing in some aerodynamic elements. That would be cool.

Loren Booda

Feb28-05, 07:55 PM

How about hydrodynamics?

misskitty

Mar1-05, 11:32 AM

How about something to do with string theory?

misskitty

Mar2-05, 09:03 AM

For kicks and giggels...why not look into how insturments are made with certain materials over others and why changing the material would alter the sound quality and tone of the insturment.

Francis M

Mar2-05, 12:05 PM

Perhaps as a next step up you could modify the magnetic field experiment to show elecromagnetic fields, or save it as a separate experiment for another fair? You know, show how electromagnetic fields develope in conducting wires, etc... ? Maybe even a branch off from that would be to show how electronic devices can possibly interfere with each other and how/what shielding an electronic device is? That may be getting a little complicated though. :cool:

misskitty

Mar2-05, 01:17 PM

:bugeye: What a cool idea! It seems a little complicated, but it's still an excellent suggestion. I'll have to keep that in mind for my AP physics project.

npgreat

Mar7-05, 09:42 AM

In the experiment to determine % of oxygen in air use 2 or more candles instead of of 1 and see the effect

Am kuls

Mar9-05, 10:16 AM

check out this site found a lot of contents on physics projects, and all animation very less texts, kinda good for concepts

http://www.goalfinder.com
go to the sitemap to get full list, njoy

minase

Mar9-05, 11:47 AM

Make a engine that runs on gravity [;)]
can u esplain that a litttle bit. :smile:

minase

Mar9-05, 12:00 PM

I would say build a Robot. Last time I tried to do a project on growing plants and animals with cloning. And the project involves cloning plants. By cutting it from it's bruches and planting it . Not very interesing idea but I got fair prize for it.

bigbasherboy

Mar16-05, 06:36 AM

if u want a sure fire way to win and become rich just invent a 2. perpetual motion machine. :)

slackr007

Apr9-05, 05:51 PM

I did a project in 8th grade that I wasn't quite prepared for. It's a good project idea, all the judges loved it, but I started a bit late and didn't have quite enough data because I had to build all my test equipment and it would break and I'd have to start over and stuff. Anyway, I did "Does solar activity affect radio propagation?". You just go to the same spot w/ the same weather at different times of day(for different solar activity) and measure signal on a radio. I used a $10-15 DIY radio kit from radio shack and an osciliscope or multimeter or something to measure signal on it. Ask an electrical engineer. Anyway, it had great potential, it just wasn't done by someone who is good w/ projects. I did get to regionals with it though.

RDev

Apr16-05, 01:12 AM

Hey, I just recently had a school physics bowl competition. One of the categories was demonstration (basically a science fair project). A great idea is the michelson/focault speed of light experiment. We worked on this for a while, but it wasn't hard to aquire the materials and was very well received. The only thing that is really important to know about it, is that the rotating mirror needs to be enclosed because it is spinning fast enough to cause serious damage if it came off. I think we spent around $20 on lasers, wood, and motors. Very worthwhile.

bijanv

Apr26-05, 08:08 PM

does anyone know any cool small explosion or projectile (missile) type experiemnts?

plusaf

May3-05, 05:14 PM

does anyone know any cool small explosion or projectile (missile) type experiemnts?

"Watch Mr. Wizard," with Don Herbert, a tv program from probably 50 years ago, did a neat one.... as with any and all explosive items, extreme care must be taken or you'll damage your body. i will accept no responsibility for any damage done to anybody by citing the following experiment......

take a dry, empty one-gallon paint can.
drill a hole, about 3/4" in the bottom, off-center, about 1/3 of the way across the diameter.
drop a small funnel, about 3" diameter into the hole.
attach a small rubber/plastic hose to the bottom of the funnel. you'll need to support the can so that the funnel can seat fully against the hole in the bottom and the bottom of the funnel and the hose are not in contact with anything under them.
put a few teaspoons of regular cooking flour into the top of the funnel.
cut a candle to about 2" long, straight across the bottom.
light the candle and put it into the can.
tap the top onto the paint can. firmly, but try to not hit the can in such a way to knock over the candle.
without inhaling first... blow into the tube attached to the funnel.

this will blow a cloud of flour into the can above the candle flame, the flame will ignite the combustible mixture, and the resulting heat and expansion will blow the top of the can at least 10-20 feet into the air.

it will probably not go straight up, so use a 10-20' long length of rubber/plastic tubing so that you're not too close to the can when it goes off, and you can duck and cover if it comes down towards you.

safety glasses and a bicycle helmet are probably some good things to use, here!

enjoy!

Loren Booda

May3-05, 06:37 PM

Is this endorsed by the Hemlock Society?

plusaf

May11-05, 01:56 AM

Is this endorsed by the Hemlock Society?

no, nor the Kevorkian family or the Darwin Awards committee.

what i described is exactly what i remembered Don Herbert ("Mr. Wizard", sponsored by GE) do on live television with his student/sidekick "Timmy."

no huhu! they did it! the lid went Bang! up and off camera before bouncing back around the set...
:rofl:

nishant

May11-05, 02:06 AM

Any 1 Year Undergraduate Projects?

RDev

May25-05, 01:32 AM

If you get the chance to run your project in front of some sizable groups (at least seven people), one idea that I saw was to cut PVC pipes to appropriate lengths and color code them. Then by smacking the end of the pipe, you get a distinct frequency from the pipe according to length. To make the project interesting, translate some simple songs into color codes and let the group play out the song under your direction. It was pretty neat for a demo. Mostly good for elementary schoolers and lower middle schoolers.

(As I understood the demo, the sound the pipe makes is based on resonant frequency of the material)

RDev

May25-05, 01:37 AM

Uhm. One year undergraduate projects... Lemme see, that would be around the order of EM stuff, right? Well, just off the top of my head what would be a neat thing to find out would be to see if work done on a magnetic field (induced by current) has any affect on the current itself. The hypothesis is that since you are doing work on the field, it has to go somewhere due to conservation of energy. The way you could test that would be to measure if the resistance changes across a solenoid as you put something through the center in the opposite direction of the field.

Something to that effect, would be interesting. I am not sure what caliber of project you were looking for though. Simple test or full on case-study type deal.

Zaimeen

May27-05, 09:25 PM

Think about the "Digital Society" !

bijanv

May27-05, 09:31 PM

care to elaborate? :)

johnparsons

Jun7-05, 09:22 PM

I had the idea the other day to do a project on torque...different axis..etc...

kclo4x

Jun11-05, 05:07 AM

I did one on chemistry one once on displacement (this was when I even knew less a bout chemistry) I took a super saturated solution of sodium chloride and added a more soluble compound in this case sodium hydroxide to see if it would kick out the sodium chloride I and it did I tested it by the addition of cooper sulfate in solution and I took the top of the solution and added the copper sulfate to it. It turned bluish black witch meant that sodium hydroxide was present and no or vary little sodium chloride and I also added it to the bottom half it turned bright green witch showed that there was sodium chloride and vary little sodium hydroxide how ever I did it all in one day and it did not look good and was poorly worded so I never got any feed back on it

Apparently I made solid ionized sodium chloride when it precipitated and from what I heard it could have explosive properties but I have know clue how

kurushio95

Jun18-05, 10:01 PM

do an experiment the proves the existence of photons. read Timeline by Michael Crichton to see what I'm talkin about

Serj

Aug23-05, 07:55 PM

I came up with a long list. among them are:
pyrolysis
what different factors affect the heat (measured in light) of sonoluminesence
cavitation

gtr

Sep21-05, 11:53 AM

we did a project called magic candle in this a small bulb is fitted to a candle and the circuit completed using a pencil cell etc. just in between the circuit a light dependent resistance (LDR) is fitted. ok so the circuit is completed but still the bulb does not glow but then if we light a matchstick near the candle (actually near the ldr) the resistance of the circuit decreases and the bulb glows! magic!

totallyclueless

Sep22-05, 05:12 PM

Anyone got a good idea for an 8th grade physical science experiment? It needs to have to do with like Charles' Law or Boyle's law or the states of matter or atoms or particles. Something like that. And it can't be simple or easy, because my teacher really wants this to be a significant experiment that proves something. But it can't be extremely long and advanced either.
A lot of stuff but if anyone has a good idea just let me know. I'm desperate!

Zero-G

Sep28-05, 04:16 AM

Anyone looking for ideas for a maths investigation project might like to consider this, which I did when I was in year 8 and won at the national level. It's a problem taken from 'Enigma' in NewScientist (18 January 2003, page 49).

"Joe's latest hobby is leatherwork. At the beginning of the soccer season he decided to make his own ball. This involved cutting out from a sheet of leather a number of pentagons and hexagons (with all sides the same length). He carefully numbered each of the pentagons with consecutive odd numbers (1,3,5...) and the hexagons with consecutive even numbers (2,4,6...) and started to sew them together as instructed. Little did he realise that he would have to sew up 90 small seams. When he eventually finished he was amazed to find that the sum of the number on any pentagon he chose plus the numbers on the adjacent hexagons always came to the same total. What was that total?"

This is a really simple project: the only tricky part was solving the above problem, but after that the rest just falls into place. Looks really impressive when one also constructs models (it's fun, too), and also try to find out whether it is actually possible to construct this ball. Also lots of potential to branch out into related areas like the geometry of the soccer ball and Euler's equation: faces + vertices = edges + 2

There are probably many more excellent puzzles in NewScientist and elsewhere

Viper2838

Oct3-05, 09:56 PM

does anyone know any cool small explosion or projectile (missile) type experiemnts?
I have done my fair share of these. The only problem with projectile/ explosions are you must be completely certain that they are legal in your area. While it may seem a tad immature, you can make a great project out of studying the muzzle velocity of a potato gun. This can be done with the use of a ballistic pendulum.
Heres a link for the gun. http://www.spudtech.com/
By the way, I clame no responsibility for any mistakes/laws you may break. Have fun and be safe.

tamilan

Oct4-05, 09:33 PM

Hi i wish i came to this forum last year, when I was doing my science fair project.. too bad its already done..

I was doing about "Which brand of batteries lasted the longest", fairly an easy topic to do, though is interesting.

Loren Booda

Oct4-05, 11:44 PM

More difficult than one would think, given varying impedances and applications.

chantella28

Nov7-05, 02:58 AM

lol in elementary school i did the same project for like 3 years, but I didn't really understand the chemistry of it until now....

we'd take pennies and put them in different solutions and see which solutions would clean the tarnish off the pennies the best. We'd use stuff like hot sauce, ketchup, laundry detergent, shampoo, different household items, both acidic and basic.

it was always vinegar and salt solution that cleaned it the best, and you can work out chemical formulas to prove why this worked the best (course we didn't do that back in grade 4 lol)

chantella28

Nov7-05, 07:30 PM

KC9FVV

Jan9-06, 01:03 PM

What about Thomas Young's double slit experiment

Would this be feasible for a high school project? What kind of resources would we be looking at?

Viper2838

Jan16-06, 05:45 PM

Would this be feasible for a high school project? What kind of resources would we be looking at?
We did Young's experiment in my high school's physics class. Its a little difficult setting up the experement the first time, but nothing too bad. Try the following:
Take a normal everyday microscope slide and paint one side of it black. once it has dried, use a razor blade to cut two thin lines the width of the slide(the width being the shortest length).
When you look through this, you will see the defraction caused By varying the spacing of the lines, you will get differing degrees of defraction.
You can also try shining a laser through these slits and see what effect that has.
Have fun and good luck.

plusaf

Jan17-06, 03:01 PM

another idea that could work would be to prove/disprove the coca cola rumors that it will "eat" items such as a steak/coins stuff like that
its rumored that coca cola is caustic/acidic enough to eat away and break down materials such as steaks/meat coins... not sure what else but i'm sure you could google it and find out

more information on "urban myths" can be found at www.snopes.com, too, as an initial point for research.

perhaps you could find some urban myths there and replicate some of the
"disproofs" of them.

+af

quantumlight

Aug31-06, 10:50 PM

for me i did one on weather control.....using water absorbent crystals in diapers to destroy clouds :rofl: ..... ended up in failure cuz i wasnt able to create a controlled cloud but a year later i found out that the cloudy formation when dry ice sublimes is actually cloud (i know amazing eh?) because it cools down teh water in air sufficiently for it to condense but it was too late

kant101

Oct16-06, 07:09 PM

Does anyone have any ideas on a 'Mole' Project for chemistry?

southerngirl5390

Nov16-06, 01:50 PM

I did a project on Red Tied one year... I had to models one of a healthy marine enviorment and one of a marine enviorment infected with red tied.

Jude143

Nov20-06, 11:57 PM

Hello ,

Hope this will give a lot of support to kids who wish to for online

science and hold interactive sessions.Science projects for kids specially at

http://www.wonderwhizkids.com

Best Regards,
Jude

night nurse 991

Dec17-06, 02:11 PM

My little brother was assigned the topic "weather" for his science fair project.

Anyone have any good ideas for weather projects?

Jude143

Feb28-07, 12:09 AM

My little brother was assigned the topic "weather" for his science fair project.

Anyone have any good ideas for weather projects?

Try the suggested resource and get back to me

if you could unable to find the concept you needed.

Cheers!!!

-----------------------
science for kid (http://www.wonderwhizkids.com/)

HeavenTornApart

Mar28-07, 08:22 AM

rashean123

Apr25-07, 01:27 PM

well!, my plain suggestion is, why not make a hydrogen generator, a hybrid rocket motor, this would be good for indoor experiments because it does not cause smoke, if u use the right fuel, the best part is that you could get the parts from home depot, or lows. the oxidizer would be a gaseous oxygen tank,(non pollutant) and u can find more about that on www.ukrocketman.com they will give good info.

jamesyboy1990

May13-07, 08:43 PM

i remember in grade 6 my friend and i did a project on different types of insulation. With a lightbulb as a heat source, we got the temp of a cardboard box up to 280 degrees Celsius

'anybody'

Sep14-07, 03:18 AM

I like the hydrogen burning one personally, but I'd like to separate the hydrogen from water also. As for the weather one, how about trying to create controlled clouds in a heated jar or something? maybe a mini-hurricane in a bowl(heated and non heated), or a research project on lightning?

Nov18-07, 09:05 PM

do an experiment the proves the existence of photons. read Timeline by Michael Crichton to see what I'm talkin about
That would be the double slit experiment! I did it right after they explained it in the book, and sure enough— it happened. Doesn't necessarily mean the existence of a multiverse though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment

therector24

Nov29-07, 07:45 AM

3boys

Jan15-08, 12:30 PM

My second grade son is wanting to do a science fair project using his Estes Hydrogen rocket kit that he recieved for Christmas. What can he do for the science fair? Is there something he can change? Is there something testable? I am NOT a sciene buff and I need help to help him.

halfANDhalf

Apr14-08, 07:33 PM

make a mini atom bomb or napalm or touch bomb or flame thrower without axe

ffleming7

Apr26-08, 08:16 PM

You could make a hologram. I have never tried it, but it always sounded interesting.

Grogerian

Oct6-08, 11:47 AM

for my grade-8 science fair i did "The Brain & Optical Illusion Effects" i got 100% :D wasn't to hard to get the info for it, talk a little about the brain and why our eyes can be deceived then write down a giant binder with 50+ Optical illusions and how they are caused ^.^

autrizzle

Jan5-09, 02:23 AM

I dunno, I would do a project with a social impact, maybe do something with carbon emissions. If you live near any university, then you can always get urself into a lab and work with them. That's a lot of fun and you get to do projects beyond ur school level.

Vals509

Feb14-09, 05:51 PM

How about trying to give the people an introduction to cryptography and its development. You can also create your own german enigma machine. Regarding recon's ideas about about using computers too, well you can include that too in your cryptography assignment when talking about modern crytography, public key encryption and the future of cryptogarphy which is quantum crytography.

skeptic2

Feb14-09, 06:08 PM

An electroscope is an easy project to make and to demonstrate static electricity. A jar w/lid , nylon string, foil and tape is basically all the materials that would needed.

A web search for electroscope will yield plenty of results for various designs. One I saw just used a jar w/lid, paper clip, and two small strips of foil. Couldn't be simpler.

I built one in eighth grade. The science dept. even loaned me the gold foil for it. Back then when everyone was worried about above ground nuclear testing, it was promoted as a cheaper alternative to a Geiger counter for determining background radiation. (The higher the radiation the faster it discharges.)

Now of course they can be built with FETs and use LEDs or meters as indicators.
http://www.eskimo.com/~billb/emotor/chargdet.html

Raxas

Aug27-09, 08:24 AM

Hey guys, I need to work on a research project for school. I was thinking of tracking exoplanets, but so far I only have a vague idea of how this is done.

What resources do I need, and how?

the pro

Oct1-09, 09:19 AM

did anyone now about the bagdad batery build 2000 bc it was the very first form of electricty it is very easy to make one that was my shcoll project

Ihatechem10

Nov10-09, 08:35 PM

Make a engine that runs on gravity [;)]

Thats impossible? but then so is everything else in our world today ;) But I do know how to make an engine that runs on nothing ;) my secret, just wait a few years then youll see it on TV, or ull be driving one.

Ihatechem10

Nov10-09, 08:49 PM

anyone fancy a project on perfecting perpetual motion?

you will learn loads of physics and if you succed you will become quite famous and wealthy

(ps if you do succed i want a 20% cut in all the income)

I got it :p Ive been working for a few years on the side thinking about this, so its just a concept, but. Ive been workin out bugs and I think id work.